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Once, a baby asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?… who will protect me?”

God answered: “Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you. Your angel will LOVE YOU AS I DO & defend you even if it means risking her life.”

Such God’s answer eased the baby’s worry and for the last time asked: “God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.” Then God said, “You will simply call her,‘Mom’.”

Just as Jesus said in today’s Gospel, “Do not let your heart be troubled!”, He sent us an “angel in disguise” to protect us from helplessness and to make us feel secured amidst worries.

God could have been so happy if every child would recognize how His assigned angel has done her tasks so well. But sad, that sometimes, it would take a story like this before a child would realize the importance of a Mother:

“Hello Operator, does Heaven have a phone number? Mommy went to Heaven, but I need her here today, my tummy hurts and I fell down, I need her right away. Operator, can you tell me how to find her in this book? Is heaven in the yellow pages, I don’t know where to look.I think my daddy needs her too, at night I hear him cry.I hear him call her name sometimes, but I really don’t know why. Maybe if I call her, she will hurry home to me. Is Heaven very far away, is it across the sea? She’s been gone a long, long time she needs to come home now! I really need to reach her, but I simply don’t know how. Help me find the number please, is it listed under “Heaven”?I can’t read these big big words, I am only seven.I’m sorry operator, I didn’t mean to make you cry, Is your tummy hurting too, or is there something in your eye? If I call my church, maybe they will know. Mommy said when we need help that’s where we should go. I found the number to my church tacked up on the wall. Thank you, operator, I’ll give them a call.”

Whew!!….be worried if this simple short story didn’t make you cry. I read it twice and I shed tears thrice — only to realize that a Mom’s task does not end where she had to stop.

She trains their kids to live the values that would make them dignified persons. She corrects and even reprimands each time a child disobeys and does things under peer pressure & other not so good influences. She reaches out even when kids do not appreciate her every effort. She persists even when kids does not respond to her messages — just to explain what kids should understand. She bears any sort of pain until so unaware her physical health already suffers. She missions out not only to “bridge her every child’s needs” but also to the father of her kids.

If we will only read between these lines and allow God’s message to dig deep within our hearts, we would realize that every Mother’s bit of sacrifice is because “The Father who dwells in her is doing His works.”

“I don’t speak on my own authority.

The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.” –John 12:49

In gratitude, we’d rather do something that would make her feel how much we hope not to give a heaven’s operator a call. Instead, we would give HER the warmest HUG and whisper to her our heart out:

“THANK YOU, MY ANGEL, IN DISGUISE! I THANK GOD, HE GAVE ME YOU!

If you’re a “child” who came across this, please honor every STRIVING MOM you know,

Once in a while we’ll first have to be despicable before we’d realize that we’ve already missed a chance! Sometimes we fall short of foresight that we overlook what should have been done at a certain required time.

I was recently bereaved by a friend who had been sick. I wasn’t able to visit her again when I started battling against mine. I had her in my mind several times last December. I planned to call her up too, but scheds and events had just piled up until I ended receiving that sad news; Facebook feeds were filled with posts, mourning for her. I felt so guilty; I should have told her, “let’s fight together!”; I should have made her feel stronger knowing that she’s not struggling alone. I cried hard in regret; I was just consoled when a friend told me, “marami pa kami!; we also want to hear from you!”

When you come to that breaking point that you wouldn’t want to miss chances, your only choice would be to MAXIMIZE TIME! Each time we wake up for a day, God is giving us “that invitation” to come after Him and leave our comfort zones of excuses.

Days may be dark at times, but if we will only consider God’s calling to “come after Him”, we will surely see the LIGHT that will mark the turning point in our life. More Dreams & Plans will materialize which will make our BEST YEAR EVER! #sunset

==========================================================================Published in FeastSMStaRosaBulletin. Series of 2017. Issue #2, 22 January 2017. Light of Jesus’ BEST YEAR EVER: Imagine Your Future Now Series. Talk 3: Implementation

I thought I would be weak and would feel weaker as I had to go through those six cycles!

But here I am … STRONGER! Continually claiming for such BREAKTHROUGH that those six which recently ended would be the last; … no more 7th, no more 8th!

When TOUGH TIMES supersede, you would surely doubt if you’d ever get through it! It has never been easy waking up at the middle of the night with unexplained pains. It has never been easy battling the work of the mind which triggers all the anxieties there are, during each and every cycle; even during downtimes few days after the treatment.

But what makes me survive each time? … that assurance that “God is with me!”

Each time I cry out to God for His mercy & love, there in my dreams, He makes me see that I have succeeded over the valley of death and that I am there, right on top of such valley, enjoying His Oasis of healing, tapping over the refreshing water of life.

Friends, would you hold on to the promises of God, especially when you are faced with uncertainty in your journey? … PLEASE DO!

Just like Joseph & Mary in today’s gospel, we are called “in hope to believe against hope” that God will fulfill all His promises and that He will give us great guarantee through our intuition and our dreams – exactly as what He did with Joseph – whom after such dream, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. Mary on the other hand, nonetheless believed and trusted with all her heart even if she was asked to assume a burden of tremendous responsibility – BOTH A LANGUAGE OF LOVE just to bring us our “Emmanuel”!

May this Advent Season make our lives an inspiration of faith & hope to those we fall short of recognition that amidst life’s enormous challenge, “God is with us” for always! #sunset

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me” — Jesus

Have you ever tried looking into the eyes of a child?

I was with many of them for the past five Fridays batch after batch. It awed them when I emphasized that I was in front of them because “iCare”! There was joy in their smiles upon discovering that we have Seven Srengths/ Character Traits we, Filipinos are good at: [1]pakikipagkapwa-tao; [2] pagpapahalaga sa pamilya; [3] kagalakan at pagpapatawa; [4] pakikibagay, madaling sumunod, at pagiging malikahain; [5] puspusang pagtatrabaho at kasipagan; [6] pananampalataya at pagiging maka-diyos; & [7] ability to survive – yet, I personally felt unhappy breaking to them the reality that we also have Seven Weaknesses/our common tendencies to do the extremes: [1] extreme personalism; [2] extreme family centeredness; [3] lack of discipline; [4] lack of initiative; [5] colonial mentality; [6] kanya-kanya syndrome; [7] lack of analysis.

There was “something” in their reactions when I illustrated: “7 Strengths minus 7 Weaknesses =0”! Could it really be that we, Filipinos are already of “zero character”?!? I then strive to sustain their innocent positivism by telling them that there’s a lot they can personally do to make themselves ON-GUARD for HOPE.

Happiness unbroken! Their eyes sparkled and laughter echoed upon sharing the PERSONAL MEANING of the SELF-SYMBOL that they have created; proudly posted each on their gallery for presentation and eagerly retrieved it afterwards – assuring me that they will keep it deep within their hearts until they grow more matured.

As I ended last Friday giving such series of Values-Formation Seminar among the pupils in the entire Cabuyao District, God is sending me this very clear message in today’s Gospel:

We may have the authority to facilitate life each time, but there could be

NO BETTER TEACHER THAN THE LOOK IN THE EYES OF A CHILD!

And as I share this experience with you Brothers & Sisters, may we then challenge ourselves to grab each CHANCE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE with the lessons we could humbly learn from each child. May we be more accommodating to RECEIVE JESUS while we recognize that we are not “the greatest” just because we have the authority to be one – for God wants us to sanctify our initiative to empty ourselves of pride – a way to really influence inspiration by the heart. #sunset